Is Rob Wasinger a Catfish Candidate?

#HARVERD Strikes Again.

Republicans in Virginia’s 10th Congressional district are wondering whether Capitol Hill careerist Rob Wasinger is actually a real candidate running to replace retiring Rep. Frank Wolf. Known most widely for the amateurish astroturf rollout of his campaign by a handful of sock puppets, one can be forgiven for wondering if Wasinger is actually Virginia’s first “catfish” campaign.

To translate that into standard English: the Wasinger campaign has distinguished himself by faking grassroots support, and by doing so in some cases through fake online identities. Now, The Bull Elephant has learned that Wasinger has not had a presence at the most recent local meetings of the two largest Republican committees in the 10th District (those in Fairfax and Loudoun counties). None of the 10th District sources with whom The Bull Elephant has spoken has seen Wasinger or any staff members at any events or GOP functions. Further, today brings proof that Wasinger has not made required filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Under FEC rules, any candidate for a federal office who raises $5000 or more must make an initial filing with the FEC disclosing the fact of their candidacy within 15 days of their having raised such a sum. In the 10th District, so far four Democrats, three Republicans (Comstock, Hollingshead, and now-former candidate Dick Black), and even an independent candidate have each made these filings. But not Wasinger, despite claims by Wasinger’s press secretary 15 days ago in comments on The Bull Elephant and Bearing Drift that the campaign had by that time already raised in the neighborhood of $100,000. (Surely his campaign would not have lied about that, would they?)

Where’s Wasinger? (Click to Enlarge)

So is Wasinger actually in the race (meaning the missing filing is yet another example of #HARVERD in action), or is he a catfish candidate? From Urban Dictionary:

catfish
A catfish is someone who pretends to be someone they’re not using Facebook or other social media to create false identities, particularly to pursue deceptive online romances.Did you hear how Dave got totally catfished last month?! The fox he thought he was talking to turned out to be a pervy guy from San Diego!

So, if you see a real live person in the 10th District who claims to be Wasinger, let us know. And then let us know how accurate that online profile pic is, otherwise we might continue to wonder if this would-be paramour of 10th District pro-lifers is actually some overgrown adolescent in the downstairs rec room of his parent’s house in Overland Park, Kansas, living out his Congressional fantasy online.

10 thoughts on “Is Rob Wasinger a Catfish Candidate?”

Sounds like one big distraction to me, frankly. A way to carve up Republican votes among the more conservative candidates who, for whatever reason, don’t think that Comstock is conservative enough? But I digress. Barbara Comstock has the ability to unite the Republican party and win over moderates, independents, undecided and maybe even a few Democrats, with a positive message that appeals to the grassroots.

Want to see a real example of a “war on women”? Take a look at what happened with a recent piece of domestic violence legislation in Virginia, which was scuttled by Democrats as part of a calculated effort to defeat a female Republican running for Congress.

Delegate Barbara Comstock’s legislation had unanimous support in the House of Delegates, but the Democrat-controlled State Senate had other plans:

The bill, HB1, was introduced by Del. Barbara J. Comstock (R-Fairfax) and would increase the amount of money that can go to victims of domestic and sexual violence and funds for combating those crimes, while also launching a subcommittee to study streamlining the funding process for agencies that deal with the issue.

Sen. Janet D. Howell (D-Fairfax) recommended in committee Wednesday that the bill be carried over until 2015, a motion that was approved on a party-line vote.

Howell and the other hyper-partisans in the State Senate had initially proposed and supported identical legislation, but that died because of “unintended consequences” that needed to be studied. One of those consequences, apparently, was that the legislation could help Comstock’s bid for Congress in Northern Virginia. They couldn’t allow that.

From 2008 to present, Bob Marshall has missed 1,039 votes. When he ran for Senate in 2008 and 2012, he missed a total of 568 votes! Some of his missed votes are truly shocking. He’s missed votes to keep predators from kids (HB233); he’s missed votes to put meth peddlers behind bars (HB931); he’s missed votes to shut down X-rated drinking establishments (HB1171); he’s even missed votes to give tax breaks to businesses (HB1388) (http://www.richmondsunlight.com/legislator/rgmarshall/votes/2008/). No wonder they call him Bob “MIA” Marshall in Richmond. Marshall has been paid $25,000 per year for his two-month vacation in historic Richmond. But now he wants a promotion?

Looking at this some of these were committee votes. Sometimes delegates have to miss to be presenting their own bills etc. Also everyone gets sick sometimes and I notice a lot of these were days were 30 or 40 bills were dealt with in one day. That adds up fast.

He has now filed with the FEC. You’ll be excused if you’re confused if it’s for his Kansas or his Virginia run because the forms are almost identical. His Virginia campaign account (& treasurer), are located in Kansas.